Tomorrow's Dawn
by Twilight Joltik
Summary: He thought he was bound to Chrom by fate, that like in a fairy tale their love would conquer all and they would live happily ever after. The world was steadily proving him wrong, but perhaps not as wrong as he would have thought. If he could live to see tomorrow's dawn, surely they would face it together, even if it wasn't in the way he had envisioned.


_**AN- I wanted to write something sad, and Fire Emblem Awakening was the first thing that came to mind. A thousand words even, and about a one-sided couple I have come to support. This should be fun. I do not own Fire Emblem, just my own ideas, which is probably for the best. Thank you and enjoy. –Twilight Joltik**_

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_Tomorrow's Dawn_

_By Twilight Joltik_

I had promised Chrom it would be his own blade that would fell Grima. Honestly, when he begged me not to sacrifice my own existence for the world's sake, I wasn't even considering defying his orders. On the contrary, I was overcome with something I was hardly used to feeling, that intangibility of being loved. He cared about me, he valued my life more than he valued the future of the world. That was all I had ever wanted, really, for the entirety of my memory: to be loved by him. Perhaps I had been all along, but it took something like this to make me able to see that.

My reasons for loving him were naïve, at best, but I could never shake them. Remembering nothing of my life but his name and face, I thought it surely meant we were bound together by fate. Perhaps I had read vast numbers of fairy tales in my youth, but I somehow believed that "bound by fate" and "destined to be lovers" were no different. Getting to know him did nothing to stop that. He was imperfect, like everyone was, and certainly no fairy tale prince, but he was kind and noble, his personal justice driving him forwards. I knew it was unlikely, for a young man from parts unknown to win his heart, but I hardly cared. Fate bound us together, I was sure, and nothing as petty as likelihood could drive us apart.

In the end, I was wholly wrong. He didn't care for me in that way in the least. Rather, he swiftly fell in love with graceful Feroxi dancer, and married her less than a year after their first meeting. I thought I would never recover from losing him. Seeing him happy with someone who he had known for only months, someone who hadn't cared for him alone for all of their memory, it was devastating, to say the least. It was all I could do at their wedding to not burst into hysterics, and I was scarcely able to hold it together until the ceremony's end.

Lucina, I hated her the moment I discovered she was to come into existence. She was something I could have never given him, another reason my love was hopeless. When we discovered she was also the young woman we had called "Marth", when she joined our cause to save her own future, I truly wanted to force her away. I couldn't look at her without noting she looked like both her father and mother, the thought of which pained me greatly. Her brother, I hated him even more, as he wasn't even a hero worthy of any form of admiration. Olivia would give birth to a shallow boy who cared not for justice, but only for his own meaningless brand of "love". As much as I wanted to deem him unworthy of carrying Chrom's blood, I wasn't cruel enough. I knew it was wrong of me to spite them, and if I had ever truly loved Chrom, I'd better start treating his children kindly.

From then on, I made every effort to keep them out of harm's way. Both were strong willed and unwilling to stay out of the fight, but I made sure I was always nearby to guard them if need be. I still hated them, deep down, but I refused to acknowledge the feeling. My foolish love at that point was like an ancient wound that would never heal. Though it was barely relevant to my life at that time, it weighed me down in battle and in my own thinking, but it was impossible to ignore. Seeing him, thinking of him, at best it was slightly saddening and at worst burned like an Elfire from a Risen Sorcerer.

I had resigned to being unloved until Chrom had begged me not to sacrifice myself. I saw then that I had gained his love, just not in the way I had planned. He loved me as a friend, and somehow that was all I needed. Fighting Grima, even when it seemed impossible, I knew I could never lose hope, as if I did, I would be betraying the love of my friend.

I truly thought I would see tomorrow's dawn until I saw my shade preparing an attack aimed for Olivia. There were no healers near, Chrom was not near enough to land the final blow, and she was most definitely not capable of taking it. If I did not kill him, she would expire before ever getting to have a second child.

Grima's chill pierced through me. He tried to remind me that this was all I had ever wanted, that if she perished I would have a chance to be with Chrom, that if I were to kill him I would be backing down on my promise to him. That was how I knew I had no choice but to break my vow. My Thoron tome ran straight through the heart of my corrupted self, dealing the final blow. As he cursed me and vanished, I felt myself fading away. A terrifying feeling, but I knew it was inevitable.

Olivia gave a sharp cry, causing Chrom to come hurdling towards me, desperate to save me. Reminding me of my promise, I tried to find the words to tell him I did it for his sake, but I hadn't enough strength left to get them out. All I was capable of was five words, five to tell him everything I had ever wanted in my pitiful existence.

"Chrom, I've always loved you…"

He held my hand as I faded into nothing, and I could barely feel his tears falling onto what was left of my flesh. The last of my strength went towards pushing a small smile onto my face as my eyes closed, unable to see the tears in his eyes. I can honestly say this: the last moment of my life was also the happiest.

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**_AN- Look, I found a really great remix of I Don't Want To Say Goodbye from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, and seeing as that song is (beautiful) despair in musical form, I couldn't stop listening to it long enough to write something happy. And as we all know, that is extremely dangerous. Also, new Fire Emblem Hype! So, thanks for reading! –Twilight Joltik_**


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